War in Ukraine: the Kremlin denounces the “dangerous” remarks of Emmanuel Macron, Russian hackers controlled… an update on the situation

Attack on Kharkiv by Russia on May 1, 2024. MAXPPP – Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Avalon

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Friday, May 3, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Kremlin denounces "dangerous" of Macron and Cameron

The Kremlin judged on Friday "very dangerous"the remarks of Emmanuel Macron on the sending of Western troops on the ground in Ukraine and accused the head of British diplomacy, David Cameron, of fueling a &amp ;quot;escalation" in the conflict. In an interview with The Economist published this Thursday, May 2, 2024, the French president reiterates his controversial proposal to send ground troops to Ukraine if the Russian army came to & ;quot;piercing the front lines". "If the Russians were to break through the front lines, if there was a Ukrainian request – which is not the case today' today – we should legitimately ask ourselves the question", he said in particular. Emmanuel Macron invites us not to "discard a priori"this option, explaining that it is a question of drawing lessons from the early stages of the conflict.

The NATO countries had in fact ruled out supplying tanks and planes to Ukraine in the war pitting it against Russia since February 2022, before to change your mind. "This is a very important and very dangerous statement", reacted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during ;#39;a press briefing. "France, he continued, through its head of state, continues to speak of the possibility of its direct involvement, on the ground, in the conflict in Ukraine."Visiting Kyiv on Thursday, the British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, announced an additional envelope of 500 million pounds sterling (nearly 590 million euros) to provide ammunition and armaments to the United Kingdom. Ukraine.

He specified that London would bring together its international partners in June to raise more funds for the benefit of Ukraine. The International Fund for Ukraine, established in 2022, brings together the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Iceland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Australia and New Zealand. Faced with Russian drone attacks, the United Kingdom insists on the need to provide the Ukrainian army with precision-guided bombs, anti-aircraft defense modules and missiles. David Cameron estimated that the weapons thus supplied by the United Kingdom could be used "to strike in Russia since Russia is striking in Ukraine". Dmitry Peskov denounced "a direct escalation", deploring worrying remarks which could jeopardize the European security architecture

Ukraine could end up starting talks with Russia

Ukraine will have to, at some point, start talks with Russia to end the war between them, a Ukrainian intelligence official said in a published interview THURSDAY. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has repeatedly rejected any discussions with the Kremlin, including signing a decree in 2022 officially declaring any negotiations "impossible". General Vadym Skibitsky, number two in the Ukrainian military intelligence directorate (HUR), told The Economist that discussions would be necessary at some point, as is the case in any war. “General Skibitsky says he doesn't see how Ukraine could win the war on the battlefield alone. Even if it were able to push Russian forces back to its borders – an increasingly distant prospect – this would not end the war", writes the review.< /p>

"Such wars can only be concluded by treaties, he said. At present, both sides are striving to achieve the 'most favorable position'. before possible talks. But he assumes that serious negotiations will only be able to begin in the second half of 2025 at the earliest", indicates The Economist. Volodimir Zelensky and other officials said Russia would not be invited to the peace summit scheduled to be held in Switzerland in June. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kouleba said this week in an interview with Foreign Policy magazine that the goal of the June summit was "to bring together countries that share approaches and principles on which they will be able to undertake other actions".

"Then communication with Russia could be possible and Russia could participate in the negotiations. Because, you are right, in the end it is not possible to end the war without both sides.” Volodimir Zelensky said in his daily address Thursday evening that the June meeting would be "the first real chance to begin to restore a just peace".

"All our positions, whether on the battlefield or in terms of diplomacy and intelligence, must be strong now" quot;, he said. "Our strength, our capabilities, our weapons, our unity with our partners, all of this must work together. And it will work."

A group of Russian hackers controlled

The German and Czech governments this Friday, May 3, 2024, accused a group of Russian hackers controlled by Moscow of a recent campaign of cyberattacks in their countries, "malicious behavior" to which the EU promised a firm response. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries have been on high alert against the risk of massive computer attacks and disinformation operations orchestrated by the Russian Federation. ;Russia.

The latest, revealed jointly by Berlin and Prague, is attributed to the APT28 group "which is led by Russian intelligence services", declared Friday the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock. "In other words, it’was a cyberattack supported by the Russia against Germany and it is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable, said the minister.

The German government announced in the morning the summoning of the charge d'affaires of the Russian embassy, ​​"to make the Russian government understand that we do not accept these actions". "We will use a range of measures to deter and respond to Russia's aggressive behavior", the Foreign Ministry warned.

American diplomacy also condemned this Friday the cyberattacks targeting several European countries and attributed responsibility to Russia. The latter judged "unfounded" the accusations.